From 1100 Poydras Street, home of the New Orleans World Trade Center, the Port of Rotterdam – the largest European seaport – is precisely 4,794 miles away. Worlds apart in a literal sense, but not in a figurative sense.
Like the system of South Louisiana ports dotting the lower Mississippi River, the Port of Rotterdam continues to be a pivotal, economic piston on a local, micro level, and a vital, strategic puzzle piece in the overall global supply chain on a macro level. And, like our South Louisiana ports, maritime industry leaders in Rotterdam consistently must stay ahead of multiple curves from a workforce, technology, and efficiency standpoint in order to meet the ever-present and ever-increasing demands of the marketplace.
Because of those parallels, an array of maritime commerce representatives from South Louisiana took part in a WTC-GNO Inc. sponsored ‘Trade Mission’ to Rotterdam in October 2024 where they meet with maritime officials in the Netherlands to exchange best practices and observe the Rotterdam’s technological and operational advancements.
“Rotterdam’s a maritime powerhouse for a reason. Its prime location at the mouth of the Rhine River makes it a gateway to the heart of Europe,” said World Trade Center director Harrison Crabtree when asked, ‘Why Rotterdam?’ “With a world-class port, efficient logistics, and a skilled workforce, it’s a magnet for the maritime sector. Plus, the city’s embrace of innovation, with its tech startups and research institutions, keeps it at the forefront of the industry.
“There is a lot for us to learn from Rotterdam, everything from maritime innovation to the role the future of energy is playing in the ecosystem, to their government’s strategy for long-term growth of the industry.”
The significance of this knowledge-sharing initiative was underscored by Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Miami, Lisette den Breems: “We were delighted to organize the program in the Netherlands for the Louisiana port logistics delegation as we value knowledge exchange, especially on our top priorities, highly. Innovations and sustainability in the maritime industry are of great importance to our country, which the delegation was able to see when visiting the Port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe and a significant economic driver in the Netherlands. With smart port logistics, the port continues to become more efficient, more flexible, and even cleaner while also working on solutions to new challenges. Louisiana and the Netherlands have many challenges in common, so let’s work together on a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future!”
Despite the Port of Rotterdam’s massive footprint – approximately 19,000 acres in land and 11,000 acres in harbor – officials there shared with their guests from Louisiana how they’re addressing the lack of available free space needed to meet the needs of the market through innovation and technological advancement.
Further hammering that point home, Rotterdam organizers made sure the visiting Louisiana contingent was able to meet and network with diverse group of maritime commerce influencers – from port executives, government representatives, educational leaders, and cutting-edge innovators.
“When you’re trying to get as much value and upside out of a trip that’s condensed to just a few days, it’s important meet with any many folks as possible who you think have the ability to provide insights into what has made Rotterdam so successful,” said William Baldwin, a maritime industry attorney at Jones Walker, the largest law firm in New Orleans.
“The scope of the operation, especially with the diversity in cargo that place handles, was impressive,” Baldwin continued. “So, you want to know how and why they got there. What opportunities did you take advantage of and how did you fund it, sustain it? What are the challenges you’re facing and how are you moving forward?”
The answers given to those questions and more should be directly applicable when charting strategies and solutions for the future Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) in St. Bernard Parish.
Scheduled to begin construction in 2025, LIT will be able to handle New Panamax and Post Panamax cargo ships that are unable to reach the Port of New Orleans because of height/air-draft restrictions from the Crescent City Connection bridge, thus delivering a more economically and environmentally efficient mode of transit that will keep South Louisiana competitive against port hubs in neighboring regions.
“(LIT) has a lot of potential for not only this region but the broader multi-state area around Louisiana,” Baldwin said. “And because of the importance of that project and what Rotterdam itself has been able to do as a port city…there are a whole bunch of synergies, which is why it continues to make sense to develop and expand relationships with maritime participants from the Rotterdam side. But, also, to learn and bring back and infuse that knowledge into projects that are either underway or set to be developed down here.”
One of many aspects of Rotterdam’s expansive operation that caught Baldwin’s (and others’) eye during this trip was the calculated efforts made to re-invest in research and development to ensure Europe’s largest seaport standing for decades to come. Local guides took the group from Louisiana through various incubator sites within the Rotterdam Innovation District, the heart of the port’s technological advancement ecosystem.
Nearly a decade old, the Rotterdam Innovation District was formed by repurposing old port sectors of an abandoned shipyard. The site is home to multiple start-ups, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and three educational institutions with 1,000 students combined. Though specialties vary, every entity within the confines of the Rotterdam Innovation District are dedicated toward finding sustainable solutions for the future of the maritime industry.
For example, the Louisiana group toured Deltares — a not-for-profit, independent knowledge institute focused on water and subsurface research in delta regions like the Netherlands and the New Orleans area) — and saw up-close the latest ways leaders there are keeping areas near waterways inhabitable and operational for commercial transit.
“Even though virtual meetings have become a staple in our professional lives, there’s something irreplaceable about face-to-face interactions,” Crabtree said. “Meeting with high-ranking officials, port executives, and startups gave us a deep dive into the big picture – the policies, the regulations, the long-term strategies. By mixing a diverse range of partners we’re giving our members a unique opportunity to learn, network, and get inspired. It’s a powerful combination that can lead to some really exciting developments.”
